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kayleig38's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, and Physical abuse
Minor: Sexual assault
marissaboone's review against another edition
4.25
Despite this, I couldn’t put Binding 13 down. I read the 750+ pages in less than 2 days. This was the only case of “touch her and die” outside of the fantasy genre that actually felt believable. Johnny was SO protective of Shannon, you couldn’t deny it.
My only other complaint was how weak and vulnerable Shannon came across. She had almost no personality beyond being a tiny fawn of a human. I honestly didn’t see the appeal in Johnny’s eyes… but her vulnerability made sense knowing her history and life. There were many triggering content matters in this story. These all made her empty shell personality make sense, even if she wasn’t “fun” to read about.
Aspects I really liked: it wasn’t really insta love the way some romance novels are. The story was spread out over months, which made it more believable. It also felt like the author was paying attention to the small details, and plot points from the beginning of the book lead to future points in the story. It made it feel like things were happening for a reason, and not like tropes were being written in just to move the story along. Finally, I really loved the depth of Shannon and Johnny’s feelings, as well as the depth of all the characters. I grew to care for them over the coarse of the book and I can’t wait to read more.
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Alcoholism, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Drug use and Miscarriage
scar07's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail
crisisreading's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Abortion, and Injury/Injury detail
jevette15's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Vomit, and Alcohol
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
joyner's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Bullying, Domestic abuse, and Violence
Minor: Alcoholism, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual violence
zubizubizuzubizubizu's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Violence
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Vomit, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
thinwhit3lies's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
First off, the writing was simple, very easy to get immersed in the story. However, it was the dialogue and some comments that really put me off. The unnecessary and numerous remarks about how small Shannon was and how big, huge, massive Johnny was put me against the wall. They were so ridiculous that at the end I was fake-sobbing 💀.
On the other hand, there were some comments that I could not but take seriously. Some misogynistic, ableist, and transphobe comments were thrown like nothing, and they literally left me gasping. I get this book is set in the 2000s, but it seems quite unnecessary in a high school romance book to make such serious statements. Honestly, it just feels icky and enrages (at least, that was what accomplished with me).
Continuing with the characters, Shannon was obviously tiny, but apart from that nothing really stood out LOL. Nah, she was cute but sometimes really frustrating, she was indecisive about everything.
I honestly expected more of Johnny. Probably because he was a teenager, but his mood swings and his attitude didn’t really attract me (not to talk about the situation with his thigh injury 😭😭). He was sweet with Shannon, but seeing how it was quite insta-lovey on his part didn’t make it entirely appealing. In the end, he improved and he actually showed a quite different and better side (let’s hope this is the beginning of his character development 🙏🙏). So yeah, I liked his daddy much better and he only appeared in two scenes 🥴🥴. Sorry, Johnny.
Shannon and Johnny had some cute moments that got me squealing, but others were actually really awkward and embarrassing, so I’m not totally on board with them. Let’s see how it goes 👁️👁️.
For me, the real star of the show here was Joey. Seeing how cared about his siblings, and how he struggled so much but also made an effort to make things better really touched my heart. I love him and he must be protected at all costs 🫶🫶.
Despite having no real plot, I had no problems getting through this book, and I actually was invested (hence my rating). The ending was pretty good (the drama finally blew up ✊), but seeing the repetitiveness and length of the story doesn’t make me rush for the next book.
Graphic: Alcoholism and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Misogyny and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Ableism
bellaperegrino's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
her in any way shape or form
im utterly amazed by it and i would totally recommend it if you can deal with hard subjects
Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment
lyra_b5's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Moderate: Bullying
Minor: Eating disorder